360 car seat and high back booster next to it

[PrimarilyParented]

my apologies for yet another car seat thread, but I couldn’t find anything about this issue. I have a 360 Britax car seat for my newborn and have a Volvo XC90. My DS (4) usually sits on opposite side of the car, leaving the middle seat free. However, sometimes I pick up my step-son (5) and we need to ensure he is sat in the seat by the window (not next to the baby, as he is autistic and doesn’t respect the baby’s boundaries. He wouldn’t cause any intentional harm but loves to kiss him/be in his face for instance and so can’t sit next to him in the car). So, I need to find a high back booster for the middle seat, so that my DS can sit there sometimes. But our existing ones don’t fit next to the 360 car seat with isofix base. I know I can put a seat in the boot and have my step-son sit there, but I am hoping there is a high back booster on the market which you can seat next to a revolving car seat so that I can have all 3 on the middle row.

[BertieBotts]

Is it the base that's the issue? You could look at Chicco fold & go as this has a very narrow base. You probably won't be able to rotate the baby's seat when there is a seat in the middle, so if you can use it without rotating that would work the best.

Another option is if your 4yo's seat is an isofix high backed booster, you could remove the isofix for that journey and that might give you enough space to shift the door side HBB to the side and fit a third normal sized one in the middle. The newer Britax ones e.g. Kidfix or Adventure Plus, are narrow or Maxi Cosi are known to be narrow. If your 4yo's normal seat is quite wide then you might be able to fit 2x slimmer HBBs together.

One last option is that legally if you have three children of child seat age but can't fit 3x seats, you can put one (preferably the oldest, but in your case middle would probably be fine) in the middle without a car seat. Not really a good solution for a 4yo but might help you in a few years' time. You can also sometimes squeeze a bubble bum inflatable booster in between where a normal booster won't fit. Again, not an ideal solution for a 4yo, but possibly better than nothing.

Lastly is your seat a Dualfix one or is it an infant carrier on isofix base? If it's an infant carrier, you could take the base out for those journeys and fit the baby's seat with seatbelt. If you also un-isofix the booster this will allow a lot more wiggle room in the centre.

[PrimarilyParented]

@BertieBotts thank you. After extensive googling, measuring and testing what we have already, I have ordered a narrow high back booster which doesn’t have long arm rests.

It’s actually the arm rests that the revolving car seat knocks into so I am hoping I will able to rotate it most of the way with a HBB in which doesn’t have them. I also intend to put the middle seat as far back as possible and the revolving seat further forward to give even more space to turn it before it hits the head rest sides of the HBB.

So, I nearly got the adventure plus you recommended, but in the end went for Kinderkraft junior as it had the same style and dimensions (44cm wide) for half the price (maternity leave means a tight budget).

I also considered the Cossatto GURU as this has no arm rests, but I think it’s a little wide (46.5cm) because my Volvo xc90 is pre-2016 so the middle seat is narrower than a full sized seat. Looking at it, though I reckon you could easily revolve a 360 seat, which sits on an isofix, next to it.

I will report back on how I got on with what I have ordered. If it doesn’t work I’ll send it back and try the Cosatto Guru.

[PrimarilyParented]

To update, the Kinderkraft seat works. It fits in the middle and means I can revolve the 360 seat most of the way round (I’d say about 2/3 of the way round) and I can even pull forward the end seat in the row to allow access to the back row of seats which is perfect for when we need them too.

i have also ordered the Cosatto guru as I got given an Amazon voucher for Christmas that reduced the cost. I’ll update you on whether that is any better.

[PrimarilyParented]

Update, the Cosatto guru doesn’t work as it blocks the revolving seat from turning. It’s also too tight around my son’s head and he says it’s less comfortable so we’re returning it and sticking with the Kinderkraft.

[BertieBotts]

Ah OK, good to know. These aren't seats I am familiar with. TBH the belt fit looks much better on the Kinderkraft than the Cosatto.